Japan, Gender, Media, Culture

Maple-Syrup “Gingerbread” Cookies

In America, there are two standard ways of making gingerbread cookies. The most common way is with molasses, but there are recipes that substitute pudding mix. You can find molasses in international stores near cities and on the Foreign Buyer’s Club. However, if you can get your hands on some maple syrup, which even the big grocery store by me carries, you can make this recipe. The flavor isn’t quite the same, but it still makes a good cut-out cookie.

I made this with white sugar, but if you substitute brown sugar, you’ll get a “darker” flavor closer to molasses-gingerbread.

Before you start
This is a fairly easy recipe, but the dough requires a lot of cooling time. You’ll need to refrigerate the dough for 1-2 days before making the cookies, so keep that in mind when you’re planning to bake. Also, the dough takes a while to cool off BEFORE you can refrigerate it.

You will need a rolling pin to roll out the dough. You can buy one at your homegoods store in the baking/Tupperware section. The one I bought is basically a really long wooden stick, whereas the rolling pins in America are shorter and have handles and a moving part.

You will need cookie cutters. You can usually find some basic shapes in the cooking/bakeware section of your local homegoods store or larger grocery store. I have a heart and a star, but I’ve seen Christmas trees and other shapes in department store groceries. In a pinch, you can use a small glass cup to make circles.

You will need a container to store the dough in the refrigerator for at least a day and a plastic bag, Ziploc bag, or plastic wrap to wrap it in before placing it in the container. Otherwise, the dough might absorb the smells of the other foods in the refrigerator, and no one likes garlic-maple cookies.

Instructions
1. Make the syrup. Instead of molasses, this recipe uses syrup made from maple syrup. Stir the maple syrup, sugar, and water together in a small pot and heat over a low flame. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, turn off the heat.
2. Make the dough. Cut up the butter into small pieces and place in a heat-safe bowl. Add the spices (cinnamon, cloves, and ginger). Pour the hot syrup over the butter and let the butter melt. When this mixture has cooled, add the flour and baking powder and mix. The batter will be very smooth and soft, like melted caramel.
3. Prepare the dough. Let the batter cool to room temperature BEFORE putting it in the refrigerator. If your kitchen is hot from having the heater running, you can set the bowl of dough in a cooler room (bedroom, laundry room, etc.). When the dough is at room temperature, it should be thicker. Flour your hands and the dough, and mold it into 1-2 balls. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap or a plastic bag or place in a Ziploc bag, then place the wrapped dough in an airtight plastic container. Leave in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
4. Bake the cookies. After the dough has set for 1-2 days, remove from the containers. Flour a clean surface like a cutting board, flour your hands and the rolling pin. Roll the dough out to about 3 mm thick. Cut out shapes with the cookie cutters.
a. If you are using a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and bake for 8-10 minutes.
b. If you are using a Japanese oven range (moven), place the cookies on a cookie sheet or in a cake pan that can rotate on the ceramic plate. Bake at 180 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Or, press the cookie クッキー button. If you use the cookie button, you will have to check the oven around 10 minutes or the cookies might get too crispy.
5. Decorate. Cool the cookies on a cooling rack or plate and decorate with powdered sugar.***

Notes
*Maple syrup can be found on the Foreign Buyers’ Club website and in the baking section of larger grocery stores with the baking goods, honey, and other syrups.
**I recommend Hokkaido brand (the yellow and red package) because it has the grams marked off on the foil.
***Found in the baking section.